The Early Show

'Sopranos' Are Back, With A Vengeance

After nearly two years, the new season of "The Sopranos" finally premiered last night on HBO. And, right from the start, the mafia drama is full of surprise twists and turns. If you haven't seen it yet, proceed with caution.

Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly and Time magazine's Belinda Luscombe visited The Early Show Monday to talk about last night's episode, in which Tony is shot in the chest by an increasingly deranged Uncle Junior.

And while it was a shocker, it also wasn't, according to Luscombe. "You saw Junior was very paranoid and you saw that he wasn't trusting people. And if you read any of the hype, which was hard to avoid coming up to the show, you knew that somebody major was going to take a bullet," she told co-anchor Rene Syler.

Both guests agreed that Tony's hurt but he won't die.

"If anyone is going to kill a main character it's (creator) David Chase," said Ross, who reminded viewers that this episode was primarily the set-up for the rest of the season. "Tony's been shot. How are both of his families going to react? His personal family and his business family. If he does die, what's going to happen? If he comes back, are people going to expect to bump up and not get it?"

As for what story lines look most intriguing, Luscombe says the women in the show look particularly interesting this season, but Ross says he was grabbed by Eugene Pontecorvo, who hung himself, rather than be forever bound by his oath to the mob.

"Poor Eugene has been a bit player for a few years," said Ross. "He gets a meaty role and then he hangs himself. Couldn't take the pressure."

Syler asked whether this season really will be the last, and Luscombe said, while no one can ever be sure of anything with "The Sopranos," it really does look like the end of the line.

"I cannot predict what Mr. Chase is going to do," she said. "I would think that the way that episode went that this is the home stretch. The horse is gathering strength and it's going to shoot on home. I don't think he's going to do another. And I don't think anybody can stand to wait another two years."